Workout without equipment

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Permalink Reply by JBF Mentor Meredith on April 17, 2011 at 10:27pm

I would invest in a swiss ball (probably 65 cm size) and rest your upper back on that while doing the chest press - you also might need to do flys instead of a straight press to make the exercise more demanding since you only have very light weights to use.

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Permalink Reply by JBF Coach Sarah on April 18, 2011 at 1:03pm

You can also alternate with push-ups; on your knees to start, then straight "military
 and after that any variant either with your feet up on an exercise bench or low chair, or clapping your hands in the up position ...

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Permalink Reply by Andy Rosen on April 19, 2011 at 5:37am

Thanks

 

What size weights would you suggest. I can go and get some but if I am going to buy I would prefer to buy something that would be useful than do all the work for nothing and not get results.

 

Thanks

Andy

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Permalink Reply by JBF Coach Sarah on April 19, 2011 at 11:25am

The weight is hard to determine in numbers without seeing you work out. "Heavy" is a relative term. To me, a heave dumbbell press would be with 32 pound weights, to many of my clients 15 lbs is heavy, to you ... I don't know.

 

The ideal solution would be to invest in a pair of selectable dumbbells, where you have each weight from 2.5 to 20 or 40 lbs depending on the brand you choose. Not only will you always have the weight you need for each exercise (obviously you won't do a lateral delt raise with the same heaier weights you'd use for a chest press), but they are a real space saver - and when you add up the cost of individual Dbs, they are cheaper - just that initial investment ...

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Permalink Reply by Terry Davis on June 16, 2011 at 8:20pm

I've got resistance bands (of varying weights) and would love to incorporate them into 7MM workouts.  What excercises could I use with the program?  Hope to grab some Power Blocks or some other decent adjustable weights in the near future.

 

Thanks for the help & advice!

Terry

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Permalink Reply by JBF Coach Sarah on June 17, 2011 at 5:25am

If you have the book "7 Minute Body", the last chapter shows all the exercises using both gym equipment, free weights and bands, so that would help you in your choice of exercises.

 

You can pretty much use the bands for every exercise, the trick is more to figure out the optimal positioning of the bands vs your body to get the movement right. You can easily enough do bicep curls by standing on the center of the band and holding the handles, curling as you would with free weights; twisting a bit to get the bands behind you, the same position will make it possible to do triceps extensions (overhead) or shoulder presses.

 

Rows are easy enough, sitting on the floor you place the band under your feet and depending on the strength of the band hold the handles or wrap the band around your hands to get enough resistance for your row movement. You can also wrap the band around a pillar if your home has one (mine does not) or the leg of a heavy piece of furniture, thus judging your progress by how far away from that anchor point you have to sit in order to get the same feeling of resistance as time goes on.

You can do upright rows also, by standing on the bands, bending at the hips and pulling - I find that a little trickier to get the proper form on though.

 

Chest press I find is a little harder, as lying on the floor on top of the band is 1) a tad uncomfortable depending on the type of band, and 2) I have to grab the band way lower than the handles, leaving the rest of the band flopping around as I work. However, I have trained many clients using this method and it's perfectly doable. 

 

Power Blocks are the best available selectables according to the specialist store I go to for equipment. The SelecTech blocks (Nautilus) are good, but the turning mechanism to select the weight can get stuck or even snap with use. I've used both - had the PB myself and a client had the ST - and largely prefer the PB. Drawback: the price, although it has come down a lot since I bought my set 5 years ago. You might look on-line for a set of used ones too, never know :) some people get rid of great stuff for a low price when they lose interest in it.

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Permalink Reply by Terry Davis on June 17, 2011 at 5:59am

Normally, I do chest press standing w/ the bands in a door anchor behind me and I press forward. For rows, I still use the same door anchor at the bottom of the door, and sit facing the door and pull toward me.

 

I think I do have the e-book for 7MB, so I'll take a look and see what exercises would work with the bands.

BTW, if there's ever a workout/routine JBF has for softball/baseball players (like myself), keep me in the loop.  Would love to have something I can use in-season and during the off-season.

Thanks for the great advice!  Greatly appreciated!

 

Terry

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Permalink Reply by JBF Coach Sarah on June 18, 2011 at 10:31am

I don't play (nor watch) either sport :) however from the glimpses I've seen on TV or driving by playing fields, I'd suggest traditional cardio for endurance (you do run a lot as far as I can make out) and speed; and wood-chopper exercises would be near the top of my list along with forearm curls (and reverse ones) as they will help build your grip as well.

 

I'll try to find some more tips for you and get back to this a.s.a.p.

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